The present invention relates to method and apparatus for making pocket-type cages for rolling bearings.
Cylindrical cages for rolling bearings are often made from tubular stock wherein a ring of appropriate width is first cut off and then the pockets for the rolling elements are punched out stepwise around the periphery of the tube. This then involves two sequential work steps on different processing machines which means that increased expense is incurred for the total production process. U.S. Pat. No. 1,477,164 shows another well-known process for making cages wherein a cup-shaped intermediate product is formed from flat sheet material and then the pockets for the rolling elements are formed therefrom. Conical cages can also be produced by this process. It is noted, however, that if the bottom of the cup produced by deep drawing is not desired, it must be punched out in an additional work step. Even though the quality of the end products produced by these processes is generally satisfactory, the total production process as a whole is relatively expensive.